FOCUS IZALCO RACE
£1399 > Get in sharp Focus...
The Izalco is the main road bike platform for German giant Focus. As such, it’s available in numerous builds. Here, pitched in the competitive entry-level road bike sector, Focus has used its economies of scale to provide a well-specced machine.
At a price when some bikes pair an aluminium frame with a carbon fork, here you get an Izalco carbon SL frame and full carbon fork. There are no groupset shortcuts either, with a Shimano 105 compact ensemble providing a touch of class. A total weight of 8.41kg for our large-framed model is good, and there’s scope for some judicious lightening in time.
As a package, the Izalco Race looks and feels sorted. The Prologo Kappa 3 saddle is a good shape with generous padding. BBB supplies the smartly finished alloy seatpost, stem and compact handlebar, which are simple but effective. The brake levers on our bike were fitted a little high on the bend, making reach from the drops too far for even big hands to use comfortably, but that’s easily amended, and the cockpit remained otherwise comfortable and solid.
Our test bike has parallel 73.5-degree head and seat angles, a 165mm head-tube (plus 15mm headset top cap) and 1002mm wheelbase for an efficient and reasonably aggressive riding position. As you might expect from its Race designation, steering feel is a little quicker and busier than more endurance-focused bikes, making rapid direction changes and line precision a thought process away.
From the saddle, the angular, flared top-tube and head-tube junction looks distinctive, and matches the external profile of the fork crown. Whether it’s for strength or style, the front end doesn’t lack lateral rigidity, and both it and the PF86 bottom bracket are braced by the drainpipe-sized down-tube.
Even with the tidy looking, budget Shimano RS010 wheelset, the Izalco Race gets down the road very efficiently. Helped by 25mm Continental rubber on the 17mm internal rims, it has better than average ride quality, with decent refinement and shock absorption. While maintaining speed isn’t too onerous, the wheels need a little more time and effort to gain it, restraining the frameset’s ability to change pace quickly. Climbing could be improved with a wheel upgrade, but the Shimanos are in keeping with the bike’s cost, and ensure the Izalco Race is a great value, classy-feeling bike.